Karolina Muchova, a Czech trailblazer, has become the first player in the 21st century to win each of her first 10 tie-breaks of the year.
Muchova achieved this feat on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
The Wimbledon finalist in her Wuhan opener got off to a slow start and trailed 3-6, 0-2 to 70th-ranked qualifier Caty McNally.
After Muchova dropped six straight games, she made a stunning comeback and succeeded in pushing the set to a tie-break. In that tie-break, she took a 5-0 lead and then won it 7-1.
The sixth-seeded Czech then went on to finish the job by winning the third-set-tie-break and cementing a 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) victory.
In 2000, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won her first nine tie-breaks of the season.
Maria Sakkari matched that record in 2020.
By winning the second-set tie-break against McNally, Muchova smashed the previous record set by Sanchez Vicario and Sakkari.
Then, by also winning the third-set-tie-break against McNally, the 30-year-old Czech set another record and became the first player in the 21st century to win each of her first 10-tie-breaks of the season.
Muchova is set to face Diana Shnaider in the Wuhan round of 16 on Thursday, October 15.
